Sunday 27 May 2012

Nobel Laureates at Rio+20 by Will Steffen


Nobel Laureates at Rio+20

Will Steffen

A group of about 20 Nobel Laureates, covering physics, chemistry, economics, literature and peace, have been putting their considerable collective wisdom to global sustainability issues over the past few years. The results of their deliberations will be profiled at Rio in a “High-Level Dialogue on Global Sustainability” on 18 June at 10am at RioCentro.

The open event follows a closed dialogue the previous day, co-hosted by the Brazilian Government and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, that will develop a science-based message to the world about the risks facing humanity, and the policy options and technological opportunities as we enter a new geological epoch – the Anthropocene.

The Nobel Laureates have been working on global sustainability issues over the past four years with a small group of the world’s leading global change researchers in a series of three symposia. The first was held in Potsdam and hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and was followed by a London symposium hosted by the Prince of Wales.

The third symposium, held last year in Stockholm and hosted by the King of Sweden, was directly oriented towards providing advice to the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability and to Rio+20. The Rio declaration, and the two dialogue events at Rio, will draw on a set of three background papers prepared for the Stockholm symposium.

The three papers (pdf versions available below) outline the nature of the Anthropocene and the challenges facing humanity in navigating a successful transition to global sustainability. We’ve also include a pdf version of the Stockholm Memorandum issued by the Nobel Laureates after the 2011 symposium.


*Professor Will Steffen is the Executive Director of the ANU Climate Change Institute. 

ANU Climate Change Institute: 
http://cci.anu.edu.au/aboutus/welcome-from-executive-director/ 

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